With the 2024 Mississippi Legislative Session over a fourth of the way complete, the Mississippi Senate and House of Representatives have begun passing legislation out of committee and debating items on the floor. The deadline to request general bills and constitutional amendments is still over a week and a half away on Wednesday, February 14, with the introduction deadline on Monday, February 19.
Early in the session there was discussion of potentially changing the rules and moving the deadlines up, but at this point that seems very unlikely. However, even without moving the deadlines, Speaker Jason White (R-West) has mentioned on multiple occasions that he intends for the House to be done with the budget by April 15, two weeks before the actual deadline. Appropriations committees in both chambers have already begun hearing from various state agencies and boards on their budget requests.
On Wednesday, Governor Tate Reeves released his Executive Budget Recommendation (EBR) in which he touted that Mississippi is experiencing the best economy in state history. The EBR is attached for your review. He also highlighted advancements in education, investment in law enforcement and infrastructure, protection of Mississippi’s culture, and an effort to keep momentum going on all these fronts. He specifically listed the following priorities for Fiscal Year 2025:
-Eliminating the income tax and laying the foundation for more record-shattering investment
-Delivering a quality education while still elevating parents’ voices
-Strengthening hospitals and improving quality of healthcare
-Enhancing public safety for Mississippians
-Investing in railroads, ports, and airports
-Sustaining a culture of life
-Protecting women
House and Senate committees have continued to meet to organize, but also have begun discussing legislation and holding hearings. The House and Senate Public Health Committees held two joint hearings this week to discuss the state of healthcare in the Mississippi Delta, physician shortages, and supply chain issues in the pharmaceutical industry, among other issues. The Legislature has brought in experts in these areas to begin researching solutions to many of the state’s healthcare concerns. The Public Health Committees are taking a hard look at Mississippi’s healthcare issues this session. It is expected there will be several major pieces of legislation addressing a variety of topics.
The House and Senate moved legislation dealing with insurance prior authorization of medical services, which has been a topic of discussion for several years. Last year, the Legislature passed a bill pushed by provider groups that created deadlines for decisions, fines, and other requirements on the insurance industry. Gov. Reeves vetoed that bill based on several unworkable items, but stated that he wanted to see prior authorization reform done. On Monday, Senator Walter Michel (R-Ridgeland) introduced a bill very similar to the bill the Governor vetoed last year and passed it out of committee the following morning. The bill was passed out of the Senate the following day and sent to the House. The House took up its own version of the bill on Wednesday and passed it out of committee. It currently awaits action on the House floor.
Insurance groups and some members of the business community have pointed out that many of the requirements in the bill could result in increases to premiums. There are currently negotiations ongoing to mitigate some of those impacts so that prior authorization reform can be enacted.
The House also took up other pieces of legislation on the floor this week. After years of discussion, mobile sports betting was brought up and passed out of the House. House Bill 774 would require mobile betting sites to partner with a Mississippi casino and then would be available to betters throughout the state. As with other gaming, there will be a 12% tax assessed on mobile sports betting. Under the traditional gaming system, 4% of the tax would be returned to the local municipality where the casino is located and 8% would go to the state. The bill was amended for the full 12% to go to the Emergency Road and Bridge Repair Fund (ERBRF) in order to gain support from legislators around the state that do not have casinos. HB 774 passed the House by a vote of 97 to 14.